When Worlds Collide
by AlphaFallenOmega
Summary: Something strange has happened, all the games have merged and are thrown into another world known as Minecraft. All these different characters need to work together to find a way to get back home. They will soon learn strange things lurk around during night within this world and some will need to learn how to put their differences aside and work together to survive. (VanillaTaffy)
1. Chapter 1

I Won't be putting this story under the crossover section because the story is going to be mainly focused around the characters from Wreck it Ralph. There will be other appearances of other characters from other games but this is mainly a Wreck it Ralph story.

Haha thank you to Dixie Darlin for the advise. Was a huge help. :)

Enjoy :3

* * *

Vanellope sat up and gave her head a good shake before she took a look around. "W-where am I?" She said in a fearful voice as she stood. She was in a feild and candy was nowhere in sight. "This is definitely not Sugar Rush..." She said as she played with the hem of her green hoodie. It was a nervous habit of her's.

All Vanellope could remember was racing with her friends and then the next thing she knew Sugar Rush began to glitch around them. After that the worlds worst pain went through her head. But that was not all, an intense bright light blinded her Before she blacked out. Now she was in a world very different from her own.

She swallowed nervously as she tried to think of what to do.

Just as she began to wonder if she was the only one that was there she heard a voice in the distance.

"Vanellope!"

Vanellope blinked a couple of times before she turned around to see a pink racer running towards her.

"Taffyta? Is that you?"Vanellope said as the strawberry themed racer drew closer.

"Yeah it's me!" Taffyta spat when she was an arms length away from Vanellope.

She doubled over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. So many questions ran through Vanellope's skull.

"Did you find anyone else?" Vanellope asked as she looked in the direction Taffyta came from.

Taffyta stood up and shook her head. "I was about to ask you that." She said as she too looked around. "Where are we?" She asked.

"I don't know." Vanellope said honestly.

"And here I was thinking this had something to do with you're glitching." Taffyta said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Vanellope looked at Taffyta with a furrowed brow. Since Sugar Rush was restored Taffyta continued to tease her about her Glitching. Most of the time Vanellope just laughed it off or ignored her. But sometimes Taffyta could be very hurtful.

Vanellope scrunched up her nose as Taffyta drew in closer. Her brow was arched and her mouth was half open as if she was confused. "Um... Taffyta... You're kind of in my personal space..." Vanellope said with a nervous chuckle and could not help but to blush slightly.

"Vanellope." Taffyta said in a blank tone.

"What?" Vanellope questioned as Taffyta raised her hand.

She quickly poked Vanellope right on the tip of her nose.

"Ow! Hey what was that for!?" Vanellope Yelped as she hopped back a good foot away from the pink racer as she rubbed her nose with her hand.

"You look different." Taffyta stated.

"What do you mean I look different!?" Vanellope said as she dropped her hand to her side.

It was at that moment when she realized that Taffyta looked different as well. Her hair was the same, same outfit... Same attitude... If Vanellope had not been in tune to it she probably would not have realized it for a while. Taffyta looked slightly older.

"Heh..." Vanellope chuckled as she scratched the back of her neck for a second.

Taffyta looked at Vanellope even more confused. "What!?" She spat.

"You look different too." Vanellope said as she stuck her tongue out at the blond. "Older." Vanellope corrected herself as she looked around.

When she spotted what looked like a lake she grabbed the hand of the a frustrated looking Taffyta.

"What are you doing!?" Taffyta spat in anger, but she never pulled her hand away from the Princess, instead she just allowed Vanellope to take her to where ever she was going.

Honestly Taffyta was happy she was with someone she recognized. That way she didn't have to be lost alone.

"Just follow me." Vanellope said as she lead her over to the Lake. "Look." Vanellope said as she pointed down into the almost clear water.

Taffyta scoffed as she pulled her hand away before she looked down into the water. Sure enough an older looking Taffyta stared back at her. Not too much older but still older. She looked to be anywhere from the age fourteen to fifteen.

"What the heck...?" Taffyta said as she touched her own cheek with her gloved hand.

At first she had thought that her reflection was not her own... But after a few seconds of the girl in the water copying her actions she was finally convinced.

"What did this?" Taffyta questioned as she turned to Vanellope who also was looking down into the water at her own reflection.

"I don't know." Vanellope said as she glitched slightly. "But we need to find a way to get back to Sugar Rush..." Vanellope said as she looked around. "But first we need to see if we can find the others." Vanellope said as she tapped her chin as she thought.

"How do we know if anyone else made it through, what if we are the only ones?" Taffyta asked her nervously.

Vanellope shrugged. "I don't know." Was all Vanellope said before she picked a random direction and began to walk.

"H-Hey!" Taffyta stuttered when she realized that Vanellope was walking away. "Where are you going!?" Taffyta demanded when she caught up to the slightly smaller Green racer.

"I am going to look for the others." Vanellope answered her as she ducked under the branch of the tree she had just walked under.

"Look around you Vanellope! This place is huge! They could be anywhere!" Taffyta said as she tailed behind her princess.

"Which is why we should start looking right now." Vanellope said simply as she paused for a moment when she realized that they were in what looked like a forest.

"Hmmm..." She hummed as she looked around. When she spotted a hill through the leaves and branches she smiled and pointed. She began to walk in that direction.

"Vanellope..." Taffyta said nervously as she looked around.

"Come on, we can get a better view from the top of that hill." Vanellope said as she ducked under more branches. Taffyta groaned and bit her bottom lip before she continued to follow her.

When they reached the top of the hill Vanellope realized that it was a lot bigger than it was from a distance. They were both out of breath and wishing that they had their Karts.

"Ok... Glitch..." Taffyta said in between breaths. "This, idea of yours better work." Taffyta said before she fell back onto the grass and closed her eyes for her to rest for a few minutes.

Vanellope stood on the tips of her toes as she shielded her eyes from the sun. She clenched her teeth as she squinted but all she could see were the tops of the trees that they had walked through. She dropped back down flat on her feet and sighed.

"Not high enough..." She muttered as she turned to see a tree that stood behind her. Another idea popped into her head. She snapped her fingers and pointed at the tree.

"I have another idea." Vanellope said before she walked over to the tree.

Taffyta opened one of her eyes to see that Vanellope had begun to climb up the tree.

"Vanellope!?" Taffyta yelled worriedly as she bolted to a sitting position.

"What?" Vanellope said as she hung from a branch. She looked down to see Taffyta staring up at her with a worried expression plastered all over her face.

"Don't do it!" Taffyta called as she scrambled to her feet when she realized just how high Vanellope already was.

Vanellope pulled herself up with a grunt and sat on the branch as she looked down at Taffyta.

"Awe..." Vanellope said with a laugh. "You do care!" She chuckled before she continued climbing up.

Climbing was one of the skills that Vanellope had developed when Turbo was in control of Sugar Rush. With all of the guards he had sent after her, Vanellope had to figure out a way to get away from them. Climbing up the Candy cane trees was one. Almost as soon as Vanellope began to climb up one of the striped trees the guards had learned to give up. After many times of running into the double striped branches they decided that it was a better idea to just leave her up in the tree before they fell into the taffy swamp.

Taffyta crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "No! Think about it, Glitch!" She spat as she shook her head. "If you die who would lead the citizens of Sugar Rush?" Taffyta questioned before she looked back up the tree where Vanellope had been only to realize that she was gone. She arched a brow and blinked a couple of times before she found the Princess with the help of a chuckle from up high in the tree.

When she saw Vanellope almost at the top of the tree Taffyta groaned in worry and covered her eyes. "I can't look..." Taffyta said as she turned away. She did not want to be a witness to the princesses demise.

"Oh Come on Taffy!" Vanellope called down as she shielded her eyes from the sun as she began to look around. From up there she was able to get a better view."Nothing to worry about..." Vanellope finished her sentence as she turned to look at the world behind her.

Vanellope's stomach twisted. Taffyta was not lying when she said that this place was huge.

"Do you see anything?" Vanellope looked down when she heard Taffyta's voice. Taffyta was turned away from her causing Vanellope to chuckle quietly to herself. "Well?" Taffyta said as she waited to hear if Vanellope found anyone or anything.

Vanellope sighed and dropped her hand to her side. She rested it on the branch that she was sitting on as she swung her legs back and forth nervously. "No... Nothing, just more trees." Vanellope said with a shake of her head.

She blinked a couple of times when something on a branch above her caught her eye. She reached up and grabbed it.

"A pine cone..." She said as she remembered one time when she was in the game Fix It Felix with Ralph. He had trees there that were covered with them. He had called them pine cones when he realized that Sugar Rush did not have any. Ralph had taken the time to show Vanellope lots of things that would not be in her game. But at that moment as she sat up in the tree holding the pine cone a mischievous grin spread across her face as another idea popped into her head.

Taffyta stood on the ground with her back to the tree as she waited for Vanellope to climb back down. Truthfully the pink racer was worried, she did not want to see anything bad happen to Vanellope. Despite her always teasing the slightly shorter racer she had actually grown to like her. After their game was reset Taffyta had felt terrible and still had not come to terms with how bad she treated Vanellope. But even so Vanellope treated Taffyta as if she was her friend, like all of the other racers too. Vanellope forgave everyone. She even saw Taffyta's teasing as simple jokes. And that's actually what they were. Taffyta's sense of humor was bitter. She didn't treat Vanellope like she used to and she made sure that her teasing did not go too far.

Taffyta sighed as she heard the branches bend, hit together, and wave behind her. She thought it was the sound of Vanellope climbing back down. But her heart nearly stopped in her chest when she heard the horrified scream of Vanellope and the sound of something hitting the ground.

"Vanellope!?" Taffyta screamed as she ran to where she heard the impact.

Leaves slowly floated to the ground as Taffyta searched high and low for Vanellope. However, instead she found something dark on the ground. She picked it up with a furrowed brow as the leaves continued to fall around her. "Vanellope!?" Taffyta called again as she dropped the object and continued to look around.

"Looking for little old me?" A chuckled voice said from above.

Taffyta closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her forehead as heat rushed to her face. She clenched her teeth as she shook her head before she dropped her hand to her side and looked up at a branch that was not too far above her.

"Vanellope..." Taffyta groaned angrily. "Do not ever do that again!" She spat as she stomped her foot on the ground.

Vanellope laughed. "You should have seen you're face! You looked so scared!" Vanellope laughed as she clutched her stomach. Her face was red, both from being upside down and from laughing so hard.

"Of course I was! I thought you broke your neck or something!" Taffyta said as she threw her hands up in the air.

"Ok, ok!" Vanellope said as she wiped her eyes with her hand. "I promise to never-" She didn't get to finish her sentence. "Uh oh..." Was all that escaped her lips, and a slight glitch, before the branch that she was hanging from broke causing her to fall to the ground, flat on her back with the branch across her stomach. "Ow..." She moaned before she waved her hand in the air as she laid on the ground. "I'm ok!" She said as she heard Taffyta rush to her side.

"You better be, Glitch." Taffyta said as she took hold of the branch and lifted off of her Princess's body.

Vanellope gave her head a shake as she thought she saw floating candy canes dancing around in her vision.

"And that, Princess... Is what we call Karma." Taffyta said as she came into view with her arms crossed over her chest. She wore a not so amused look on her face. "You are lucky you were not that high up." She said as she watched the dazed glitch on the ground. "You could have been seriously hurt." Taffyta said as she watched Vanellope sit up.

Vanellope rubbed the back of her head before she chuckled. "Careful Taffyta." Vanellope said as she looked up at the pink racer. "People would think that you were worried about me." Vanellope laughed before she jumped to her feet.

Taffyta scoffed and shook her head. "Only in your dreams, Glitch." Taffyta said as she dropped her hands to her sides. "So did you see anything up there while you're head was in the clouds?" Taffyta asked her. "I should rephrase that..." Taffyta said as she turned away from Vanellope to look up at the tree she had fallen from. "You're head is always in the clouds." She finished as she turned back to her.

"Haha... Very funny." Vanellope said as she thought for a moment. Her head was still slightly dazed. But after a moment she remembered after she had dropped the pine cone and began to climb down she did spot something moving in the distance. It looked like a person.

She turned on her heel and pointed in the direction she had seen them. "I saw something in the distance that way." Vanellope said as she looked over her shoulder at Taffyta.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Taffyta said as she began to walk in the direction of Vanellope's finger. "Lets go, and maybe if we are lucky we will find a Kart." Taffyta said hopefully as Vanellope followed her.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set and Vanellope could not help but notice how close Taffyta was to her. From the corner of her eye Vanellope could see that Taffyta looked frightened. It was getting darker and they kept hearing sounds deep within the trees. Vanellope could not help but to feel frightened as well. It was bad enough to be in a unfamiliar place, but to think that there was something watching you made matters even worse.

"Maybe we should find shelter for the night..." Vanellope said after she had heard a branch break from behind them causing Taffyta to yelp and grab hold of Vanellope's arm.

"Good idea." Taffyta said as she subconsciously buried her face into Vanellope's arm.

'Sheesh, and here I thought the princess was supposed to act like that.' Vanellope thought as Taffyta tightened her grip on Vanellope's arm.

Vanellope looked around in search of anything they could use, but she froze when the sound of snarling found her ears. A chill ran up her spine and she swallowed nervously.

"Taffyta...?" Vanellope said shakily.

"Yeah...?" Taffyta answered her, equally as shaky.

"Please tell me that was you're stomach." Vanellope said as she bit her lower lip.

Taffyta pulled away from Vanellope's arm and gave her a look that said. 'How the hell could my stomach make that sound, Glitch?'

Vanellope laughed nervously but was silenced when she heard the snarling again.

"It's coming from behind us." Taffyta whispered. "What do we do?" She asked Vanellope.

Vanellope thought for a moment, but only one thing came to her mind as she heard the sound of a branch snapping. The sound echoed off the trees making Vanellope want to scream. Instead she grabbed hold of Taffyta's hand and yelled one word. "RUN!" Before they took off in the direction that they had been walking in for hours.

Vanellope ducked under branches and used her arm as a shield as best as she could as her face was assaulted by the arms of the trees. She heard Taffyta grunt and she felt her stumble slightly making Vanellope wonder if she had taken a branch to the face.

"It's getting closer!" She heard Taffyta say between breaths. "Vanellope!" She yelled frightened as the green racer dragged her along. "What do we do?" She asked.

"Keep moving." Vanellope answered her as she felt the sting of a branch cutting her face. But she ignored the pain and kept moving, she could see the moon through the branches which told her that the clearing was not too far. "We are almost at the clearing!" Vanellope said to Taffyta.

She prayed that what ever was chasing them would not follow them out of the trees.

Finally after what seemed like forever they broke free of the trees and into the clearing. But Vanellope didn't stop. She kept her hold on Taffyta and kept moving.

"Look!" Vanellope gasped. "Lights in the distance." She said as she continued to run towards them.

"It's still after us!" Taffyta squealed.

Vanellope clenched her teeth when she saw movement by the light. "Someone is there!" Vanellope said as they drew closer.

"Over here!" The person called as they waved their hands.

It took Vanellope a moment. It was a large man with big hands, but soon a smile spread across her face.

"Ralphie!" Vanellope screamed when she finally reached him.

"Get into the light, quick closer to the fire!" He demanded as he picked up a branch.

Vanellope and Taffyta stopped when they were bathed by the light of the fire that Vanellope guess Ralph had made.

"Stay behind me, girls." He said as he plunged one end of the branch into the fire.

"What is it?" Vanellope said as Taffyta stood behind her in fear.

"I don't know..." He said as he squinted. "They look like dogs..." He said as he spotted a pack of the four legged creatures. "No, wolves." He stated when he heard them howl.

He swung the branch at one the wolves that jumped at him. The branch connected with it's head, sending embers flying everywhere. The wolf yelped and shook it's head before it ran back towards the forest.

"Whose next!?" Ralph yelled with a successful smile. Two more wolves jumped at him. He punched one with one of his massive hands and hit the other with the smoldering branch. They too charged back towards the forest. Two more wolves remained, and all Ralph had to do was yell in anger like the time he had seen Vanellope being pushed into the mud to make the beasts retreat.

"Ha! That will teach you to mess with a wrecker!" Ralph said with a laugh before he turned to face the girls.

"Ralph!" Vanellope cried after Ralph tossed the branch into the fire. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a hug. He chuckled and hugged her back for a moment before his eyes opened. He arched a brow and pulled back. He picked her up and looked at her for a moment.

"Um... Ralph..?" She said with a chuckle.

"You look different." He stated before he set Vanellope back on the ground. He looked over at the pink racer who had her hands clasped in front of her. "Both of you do..?" He said as he scratched the back of his head.

"We know." Vanellope said as she looked back at Taffyta who still looked terrified. "Older." Vanellope said with a shrug. "We don't know how it happened either." She said as she looked up at him.

"Hmm..." He hummed as he rubbed his chin.

"Do you have any idea how we got here?" Taffyta asked Ralph. Ralph shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine, kid." He said with a sigh before he sat down on the ground in front of the fire. "One minute, I'm wrecking a building and the next there was a bright light and now I'm here." He said as he motioned around him.

"Same with us." Vanellope said as she and Taffyta sat down as well, they leaned against a tree stump to keep themselves upright.

"I'm guessing there are others who are here as well." Ralph said as he leaned back. "Fix It is here too." Ralph said when he saw Felix making his way towards the fire with logs. "What took you so long?" Ralph asked him as he set the logs down.

Felix turned and pointed. "I found Q*Bert" Felix said as the little orange creature walked up. "I thought that maybe there would have been others nearby where I found him, sadly not though." Felix said with a sad sigh as he sat down beside Ralph. "Oh! You found Vanellope and her friend!" Felix's face lit up when he saw the girls sitting side by side.

"Hi Felix." Vanellope said with a smile and a wave.

"Oh this is super!" He said with a smile. "I know others will see the fire and come this way!" He said as he clapped his hands together. "How far away did you see the fire?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

"Actually..." Taffyta said as she looked at Vanellope.

"We only saw the fire from the opening of the trees." Vanellope finished for her.

"We were kind of being chased by wild animals." Taffyta said quietly.

"Oh my gosh." Felix said with wide eyes. "Are you two ok?" He asked them when he realized that Vanellope's face was cut up.

Because Vanellope had been in the lead she had taken most of the damage from the trees. Taffyta did get a few cuts but most of the time she had been shielded by Vanellope.

"Yeah, we're ok, Ralphie saved us." Vanellope said as she grinned up at her best friend.

"That's good." Felix said as he patted Ralph on the shoulder. "In the morning we are going to look around some more for more people." Felix said as he looked around at the now completely dark landscape. He hoped that the fire would keep anything that would want to harm them away. "Well... I am actually going to try and build us a shelter." He corrected himself. "And maybe figure out a way of making some kind of beacon to lure them here." He said as he rested his chin in his hands.

There was a few minutes of silence. Vanellope found herself staring into the fire as Ralph and Felix kept watch. Soon she felt something lean against her shoulder. She turned her head to find that Taffyta had fallen asleep. She could not help but to smile. She seemed so much less feisty when she was asleep. Pretty soon Vanellope found it hard to keep her own eyes open and eventually she leaned her head against Taffyta's as she fell asleep also.


	2. Chapter 2

Vanellope's brow furrowed before she opened her eyes. She heard the wound of someone Awing. She opened her eyes to find Felix looking at her with a smile on his face and his hands clasped together.

"You two are just so cute." He said with a soft chuckle.

"Huh?" Vanellope hummed. But then she realized that Taffyta was still sleeping on her shoulder. "Uh oh... How do I move without waking her?" Vanellope asked as she looked up at Felix with a pleading look. She didn't want Taffyta to wake up and find that she had used Vanellope as a pillow all night. Taffyta would obviously be offended by it, or find a way to tease Vanellope about it. Felix was about to say something but Ralph beat him to it.

Ralph let out a loud yell causing Taffyta to bolt awake with a terrified scream that made Vanellope cringe as her ear that was closest to Taffyta took the damage. Ralph laughed out loud before he stood in front of the girls.

"Rise and shine." He said as he placed his hands on his hips. "Lets go hunting for other characters!" He said with a laugh before he turned on his heel.

Vanellope stood up with a sigh as she gave her head a shake. Her one ear was ringing and she wondered if it was going to be like that all day.

She looked down at Taffyta who had a hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She was about to say something when an unfamiliar voice met her ears.

"I was wondering who else fell into my game." They said as they approached the small group.

"Who are you?" Vanellope said when she saw a young man, who was just a little taller than herself, wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue pants making his way towards them. He had a shovel in his hand and the wind blew though his short brown hair as he smiled at them.

"My name is Steve." He said as he bowed slightly.

"This is you're game?" Ralph questioned as he walked over to the smaller man. Ralph towered over Steve causing the little man to look slightly nervous.

"Um... Yes it is." He said with a quick nod. "It's called Minecraft." He said as he took a seconds to look at each of the people who were around the fire. He blinked a couple of times when he saw Q*Bert. "What an interesting creature..." He muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"That's Q*Bert." Felix spoke up. "I'm Fix-It Felix Jr." Felix said as he motioned to himself. "This is Ralph, Vanellope and Taffyta." He said as he introduced everyone else.

Steve smiled. "Nice to meet you all, and it's nice that I found you before other things did." He said with a laugh.

"What do you mean 'Other Things?" Taffyta asked as she jumped to her feet.

"Didn't you see any last night?" Steve asked her.

Taffyta looked at Vanellope who shrugged.

"We saw some wolves, but that's about it." Ralph said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, Well than I guess you all were lucky." Steve said as he stabbed his shovel into the ground before he leaned against it. "But I also think it might have something to do with the fire, if there are not many of them they don't like to come into the light." Steve explained.

"They almost tore the girls here apart, so yeah you can say that we are lucky." Ralph said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Vanellope could almost feel Taffyta cringe in fear beside her.

Steve's eyes went wide. "Is anyone hurt?" He said as he eyed the girls.

Vanellope shook her head."We're ok." She said with a smile. Steve nodded but saw the cuts on Vanellope's face.

"You said 'Who else' fell into you're game, does that mean you found more characters?" Felix asked hopeful as he clasped his hands together in front of him.

Steve nodded. "Yes, a group of people who call themselves the Nicelander's." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck as Felix began to beam.

"Oh that's just great!" Felix said as he smiled hopped a few times out of excitement.

"Those poor people were completely terrified when I found them." Steve said as he shook his head. "At first I thought that maybe they had seen one of the creatures that lurks around at night..." Steve trailed off for a second before he gave his head a shake. "But... They do not match the description of what they explained to me." Steve said as he pulled his shovel out of the ground.

Vanellope arched a brow at him. "What exactly comes out at night." Vanellope asked curiously.

"Monsters." Steve said with a shrug. Vanellope swallowed nervously as a chill ran down her spine. "You need to be careful because they will attack you and they will try to hurt you." Steve said as he looked at them with a serious look in his eye. "In this game... You do not regenerate." He said carefully.

Tension filled the air as Steve looked around nervously before he spoke again. "My brother found that out the hard way..." Steve said with a sigh. "Herobrine was his name, he went out into the night and never came back." Steve said before he bit his lower lip.

"Oh dear..." Felix breathed.

"But that is not all." Steve said as he held up his hand. "Yes it is sad... But... Sometimes... I think he haunts the game itself." Steve said with a haunted look in his eyes. "I've seen him standing in the fog... I think he's angry..." Steve said with a shrug. "That is what I think the Nicelander's saw." Steve said with a nod. "They said everywhere they looked he was there and they couldn't get away." Steve said carefully. "They said only when I found them did he disappear."

Vanellope glanced at Taffyta. If the girl hadn't been scared before she was now. In fact she was now basically clinging to Vanellope's sleeve. Vanellope could not deny it either, she found herself scared as well.

"Come with me." Steve said as he motioned for them to follow them. "I built a little village that is shielded by a wall, you will be safe there." He explained. "I am hoping if there are more of you they will come to the village as well." Steve said as he began to lead the way. "Oh! And one more thing." Steve said as he turned to face them once more. "If you are going to go out of the village... I suggest you do not do it alone." He said as he pointed to everyone of them. "Just a safety precaution." Steve finished before he continued on his way.

"We will actually be going out to hunt for more of us." Felix said as him and the group followed Steve.

"Then I shall come with you." Steve said with a smile. "I am sure I can be of assistance." He said as he leaned his shovel against his shoulder as he walked.

"That would me very much appreciated." Felix said with a smile.

Vanellope looked over to Taffyta. "Are you ok?" She asked when she saw how badly the pink racer was shaking.

"I'm fine." Taffyta said a little harsher than she had meant took.

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Then why do I feel like a security blanket?" Vanellope asked her. Taffyta looked away from her.

"I was getting ready to throw you out of the way of danger." Taffyta said quickly. "What would Sugar Rush be without it's princess." She said not looking at Vanellope.

Vanellope chuckled. "See! You do care!" Vanellope said with a laugh as she lightly pushed the fuming Taffyta. She wonder how much longer it would take before the strawberry themed racer would explode.

* * *

"And here we are!" Steve said when they approached two large doors and lead into the village. "Home sweet home." He said as he pushed the door open.

"If there are monsters... Don't you think you would need a stronger door?" Ralph asked Steve as they entered the village.

"By nightfall I usually have them barricaded." Steve said with a shrug as he stood to the side and allowed the small group to enter the village first.

As soon as Felix entered multiple voices could be heard calling his name. The next thing he knew the Nicelander's were surrounding him asking him a million and one questions.

Vanellope chuckled slightly but she could not help but to look around in search of any Candy Citizens or Racers. When she didn't spot any she sighed, hoping that maybe they were all safe in Sugar Rush.

"So you made this all you're self?" Taffyta asked Steve.

"Yup." Steve said with a nod. "In this game the only objective is to survive." He explained. "That means you have to make a shelter, find food and all that stuff. I've been here for so long the only thing that keeps me from getting bored during the day is improving my shelter." He said with a laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I kind of went a little overboard with the whole village thing." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"I don't think so." Taffyta said with a smile. "I mean you will probably have a lot more people coming this way and your village might save their lives." She explained.

Vanellope could not help but to notice how nice Taffyta was being to Steve. She barely knew him and she treated him better than how she treated her own princess. She was jealous. She looked down at her hands before she looked over to Ralph as she heard Taffyta laughing at something Steve had said.

"Hey there kid." Ralph said as he patted her on the head. "Hope the landing here was not too rough." He said with a chuckle as he picked her up and set her on his shoulder. Despite Vanellope being a little bit bigger with the age difference she was still tiny compared to Ralph.

"Nah, it was not that bad. Headache and a bright light." She said with a shrug.

Ralph rubbed his chin. "I just wonder what caused us to be pulled into this game." Ralph said as he dropped his hand to his side.

"I don't know." Vanellope said as she looked down at her hands. "I just hope that if there are other characters here they will find this village." She said with a sigh. "Some princess I am." She said with a chuckle. "I can't even find my own people." She said as she shook her head.

"Hey, don't talk about yourself like that." Ralph said as he patted her knee. "We will find them, this place is huge but I'm sure they can't be too far." He reassured her.

Vanellope nodded slowly. She turned her head towards the sound of Taffyta's laughter. It looked like the pink racer had found a new friend.

Ralph looked at Vanellope out of the corner of his eyes. "How about we go out and look for them." He said as he began to make his way towards the doors. Vanellope nodded.

"Wait!" Ralph stopped when he heard Steve's voice. "You're going out now?" He asked them. Both Vanellope and Ralph nodded.

"We have to find them if they are out there." Ralph said with one of his hands on the door.

"Ok, just give me one moment." Steve said as he raised his hands. "Let me get something, I'm coming with you." Steve said before he ran into what looked like a shed.

Vanellope looked at Ralph who gave her a shrug. Seconds later Steve came running out with some objects in his arms. "Here you are, Princess." Steve said with a smile as he reached up to where she was sitting on Ralph's shoulder. He handed her a sword that was in a leather sheath.

"Oh! I've never used a sword before." Vanellope said as she pulled it out slightly to see a blue blade.

"It looks really sharp." Ralph said worriedly.

"You're friend there told me that you are the Princess of you're game." Steve said as he pointed to Taffyta. "A Princess needs to be able to defend herself, and needs to be protected." Steve said as he watched her strap the sheath to her back.

"Thank you Steve." Vanellope said with a smile. "It's made from diamonds, the strongest blade you will ever find." Steve said proudly. "I made it myself." He said with a grin.

Steve gave Ralph a pickaxe and Felix an axe. Both could be used as tools and as weapons. "We seem to be all set." Steve said as he looked around. "Now we can go." He said as they began to walk towards the doors.

"Wait! You better not be thinking about leaving without me!" Taffyta said as she looked up at Vanellope.

Vanellope thought for a moment. "You would be safer here, Taffyta." Vanellope said hoping that she would not have to fight with the pink racer.

"Oh no you don't!" Taffyta said as she pointed up at Vanellope.

"Oh..." Vanellope heard Felix moan uncomfortably.

"You are the Princess! If you are going anywhere, I am going with you! What kind of racer would I be if I let the Princess run around Putting herself in Danger!?" Taffyta said as she threw her hands up in the air. "You already fell out of one tree!" She said with wide eyes.

Vanellope pinched the bridge of her nose. There was no arguing with Taffyta.

"I thought you told you're people to call you president..." Ralph whispered to her.

"Trust me... No matter how many times I told them to... I guess old habits are hard to break... I just gave up." Vanellope said with a shrug. "Fine... You can come..." Vanellope said with a sigh.

Steve had ran back inside his shed as Taffyta yelled at Vanellope. He came back with another diamond sword in a leather sheath. "And the Princess's protector also needs a blade as well." Steve said with a smile as he helped strap it to her back.

"Protector?" Vanellope questioned with wide eyes. Never did she think that Taffyta, the leader of her torment for fifteen years would be her protector.

"Very well." Ralph said as he reached down and picked Taffyta up and placed her on his other shoulder.

"Now we can go." Taffyta said with a smug look on her face. Vanellope only pinched the bridge of her nose in shock.

"Where do you think we should look first?" Felix asked as he looked up at Ralph. Ralph looked around.

"Do you girls see any sign of anyone from up here?" Ralph asked. Vanellope looked around. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Q*Bert with the Nicelander's before she glanced around the landscape. "Just lots of trees." Vanellope said with a pout. "No people." She said with sigh.

"Ok... Here how about now?" Ralph said as he picked Vanellope with one of his huge hands and reached high up.

"Wow!" Vanellope cried as she clung to his thumb for a second before her eyes caught something in the distance behind a wall of trees. "Wait! I see something!" Vanellope cried from on top of Ralph's hand.

"What is it?" Taffyta asked her as she watched as Vanellope shielded her eyes from the sun.

"... I think its smoke..." She said as she pointed in the direction. "That way." She said as Ralph lowered her back down onto his shoulder.

"That way it is." He said as they began to walk in that direction.

"Might be a camp fire." Steve said as he followed Ralph. "That is how I found you guys." He said as he used his shovel as if it was a walking stick.

"How well do you know these areas?" Felix asked Steve.

Steve laughed nervously. "I did know them like the back of my hand... But when you all arrived, when there was the bright light everything changed. My Village stayed the same, but everything outside of it changed. I don't remember this many trees, or that many mountains." He said as he pointed around. "There used to be a path and everything, I had lit with torches. Someone seemed to not like my decorating skills." He said with a shrug.

"You did a good job with the village, I wish I could have seen the rest of the world before it all changed." Taffyta said as she looked down at Steve.

Vanellope watched as the Crafter blushed slightly at her comment. Once again she could not help but to feel slightly jealous.

Eventually the group came to a halt in front of the forest.

"This is a huge forest..." Steve said nervously.

"Whats wrong? Can't we just walk through it?" Vanellope asked him from on top of Ralph's shoulder.

"Well yeah we can walk through it." Steve said as he scratched the back of his neck. "I forgot to tell you guys something..." He said hesitantly.

"Why don't I like the tone of you're voice..." Vanellope said slowly.

"Well... You see the monsters don't just come out at night..." Steve said as he played with the handle of his shovel. "They come out anywhere it is shadowed or dark." He said as he pointed towards the forest. "Like in a forest." He said fearfully.

"Oh Sugar snaps..." Vanellope muttered as she looked into the forest.

"This might be harder than we thought it would be." Ralph said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"See, normally I would have thinned the forest and trimmed the leaves so it would not be so dark..." Steve explain.

"We need to get to who ever is on the other side." Ralph said before he began to walk into the forest. "Keep you're eyes open." He said as he clutched the little pickaxe. He looked down at the tool and wondered exactly why he chose to take it. He was better at fighting with his fists.

"What was that!?" Vanellope yelped when she heard a low groan from deep within the forest.

"I think you are about to meet one of the monsters." Steve said as he clutched his shovel so tight that his knuckles went white.

"Hang on tight kids." Ralph said to Taffyta and Vanellope. "If I need to throw a punch I don-" Ralph was cut off when a green skinned man ran right into him at such a hard force it sent the large man sprawling to the forest floor. Vanellope went sprawling one way and Taffyta another.

Vanellope heard Ralph yell in frustration before he punched the green man with his massive hand sending him flying into a tree so hard a few of its leaves fell off. Vanellope slowly stood, she got to her feel in time to see another green skinned man charging at her. Her eyes went wide when she realized what it was.

"A zombie!?" She screamed as she pulled her sword out. She was not used to using a sword so when she went to swing it she missed her target completely.

The zombie pushed her to the ground before it drew back it's hand to hit her.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta screamed as she quickly swung her sword like a baseball bat at the zombie. The zombie grunted as her sword made contact.

Vanellope covered her head as she listened to the Zombie grunt over and over again until there was nothing but silence.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta said as she touched the girl's shoulder. "Please say you're not hurt." Taffyta said as she looked at Vanellope up and down.

"I'm ok." Vanellope said as she removed her arms from her head to look up at Taffyta. "Did you?" She asked.

"She turned the thing into nothing but pixels!" Steve said with a laugh as he watched as the Pink racer helped the green one up.

"Let's get to that camp fire." Taffyta said as she continued on. As she did so it did not go unnoticed how her hand that she used to pull Vanellope up remained interlocked with Vanellope's.

Vanellope blinked a couple of times as she looked down at her hand. It looked like Taffyta was not about to let it go, she had a look of determination on her face and in her other hand was her sword that she clung to, it looked like she was ready to use it at any moment. Vanellope looked down at her own sword that was in her own hand. She would have to get better at using the blade. For now it looked like Taffyta had made herself Vanellope's personal protector.

Minutes later another Zombie charged out. Ralph made quick work of it with one of his massive hands.

"Here, Steve." Ralph said after the zombie was turned to pixels. "I think I am better off with my fists." Ralph said as he handed the smaller man the pickaxe.

"Can't argue there." Steve said as he strapped it to his back in case he needed it.

Eventually they made it out to a clearing.

"Look!" Taffyta said as she pointed. "The camp fire!" She said with a smile.

They drew closer but was surprised when they did not find any sign of life anywhere.

"What the...?" Vanellope said as she pulled her hand away from Taffyta. "No one is here." She said as she looked around.

"Doesn't look like anyone has been here at all. Despite the fire." Felix said as she looked down at the dying flames.

Steve looked down at the fire. His face went pale.

"What? Whats wrong?" Ralph said as he looked down at Steve.

"There was no one here." Steve said as he bit his lower lip.

"What do you mean? Someone had to have made this fire." Vanellope said as she pointed down at the fire. She was beginning to think that maybe Steve was a little bit crazy.

"This has happened before." Steve said as he scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe I'm wrong, but it is just like the other times." He said as he looked up at Ralph. "Herobrine is playing one of his games." He said with a shrug.

"One of his games..?" Vanellope said as she shook her head. "So we came out here for nothing." She said with a furrowed brow. No one was out here, non of our friends?" Vanellope said clearly upset.

"Yes... I am so sorry." Steve said as he played with the handle of his shovel. "Herobrine does this a lot, he plays with our heads, he will try and find out weaknesses, and it looks like he has already found one. You're friends." Steve said sadly.

Vanellope swallowed nervously. "What kind of game is this?" Vanellope said as she looked around as paranoia began to set in.

"Obviously not a very fun one." Ralph said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ralph!" Felix said as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Look! This place nearly got Vanellope killed!" Ralph said as he picked up Vanellope and set her on his shoulder again as a protective precaution. "So answer me! What kind of game is this!?" Ralph yelled in frustration.

Steve exhaled before he looked up at Ralph with a fearful expression on his face. "A haunted one."


	3. Chapter 3

"There is no such thing as a haunted game!" Ralph spat as he reached up to hold to hold Vanellope's knees so she wouldn't fall off his shoulder. He began to make he way back towards the forest that they had fought so hard to get through.

Steve's eyes went wide when he realized that the rest of the group was following Ralph. "Wait!" He cried as he reached for them. "I am serious!" He said as he ran out in front of them, blocking their path.

Taffyta looked at him hesitantly before she glanced up at Vanellope who sat on Ralph's shoulder. Honestly the blond racer did not know what to make of the situation. Someone had to have made the fire but no one was was there. They could have just simply left the area but would they have left the fire burning like that?

"Believe me, I used to be like you!" Steve said as he looked at each of the members of the group. "I didn't believe it at first, I was in denial for a long time! I tried to think of logical reasoning to make up for all these occurrences." He said as he looked around cautiously. "He is out there... He has never hurt anyone but who says that he is incapable of causing harm." Steve finished as he looked at Taffyta with a pleading look in his eyes.

Taffyta looked away from him and scratched the back of her neck. She sighed after a moment and looked up at him. "You know...Maybe he has a point." She said with a slow shrug. "I mean this is his game after all... He knows this place better than any of us combined." She said as she looked up at Ralph who scoffed.

Vanellope silently shook her head. She was hesitant about trusting Steve... Maybe it was because she was jealous... She just hoped that Taffyta was not stupid and would not trust him with her back turned.

"And who says that this guy is even out here." Ralph said with clenched teeth as he looked down at the little man. "I say that it is just another character who is lost." Ralph said with a firm nod. "Maybe they will come back." He said as he glanced back towards the fire.

"Or maybe there really is something out here, Ralph." Felix spoke up as he looked up at his much larger companion.

"What!?" Ralph yelped in surprise. "You can't be serious! You actually believe this guy!?" Ralph said as he motioned to Steve.

Felix held up his hands to show that he did not mean any harm. "All I know is the Nicelander's did see something Ralph... They were pretty shaken up... So maybe we should be cautious and listen for now." Felix said with a small shrug.

Ralph groaned in annoyance as he ran his massive hands though his hair. "I cannot believe this..." He sighed as he dropped his hands to his sides. "What exactly do you suggest than?" He said as he looked down a Steve. "We run back to the village and hide?" Ralph said with a shake of his head.

"At least until morning." Steve said as he pointed towards the sky. "We need to get there as soon as possible." He said with a fearful voice. "We spent too much time out here... The sun will be setting soon... With the dark comes more monsters." He said as he looked at Ralph.

Vanellope looked up at the sky and realized that what the Crafter said was true. She guessed it would be at least an hour before the sun was gone... They would have to hurry. "We need to go now." Vanellope said as she looked down at Steve who nodded frantically.

"Lets go." Steve said as he motioned for them to follow him.

"This is not over little man." Ralph growled as he cracked his knuckles in anger.

As they began to make their way back through the forest Vanellope remained on Ralph's shoulder. This time she kept her eyes open for any movement in hopes that she would be able to alert their small group of any in coming attackers. She did spot one or two Zombies through the trees but they did not seem interested in attacking them...

"Why won't they attack?" Vanellope asked quietly.

"Because they haven't seen us yet." Steve said as he glanced up at her. "And sometimes if you just leave them be they will leave you alone." He said as he ducked under a branch.

Vanellope's head snapped to the side when she thought she saw two red eyes watching her. "What the..." She muttered to herself as she looked around in search of them. The leaves above them began to rustle as if something was moving along the branches. She swallowed nervously and gripped the strap of Ralph's overalls in fear.

"Ew! What is this!?" Taffyta suddenly cried out causing everyone to flinch at the sudden outburst.

Everyone looked over to her to find that her leg was stuck in something stringy. Vanellope's brow furrowed as she crawled down from Ralph and onto the ground. "It looks sticky." Vanellope said as she looked at the stringy mess.

"My leg is stuck." Taffyta said as she tried to pull away from it. Vanellope took hold of her arm and began to pull. It was then that Vanellope realized that the blond actually really was stuck.

"Oh... Fudgesicles..." Vanellope said though clenched teeth as she pulled. Eventually Vanellope's hand slipped out of Taffyta's, sending the green racer to the ground. Vanellope gave her head a shake as she sat up. "She really is stuck..." Vanellope said as she hopped up and patted the dirt off herself. "Ralph do you think you can get her out?" Vanellope asked him.

Ralph chuckled. "No problem." He said as he began to walk towards the close to panicking Taffyta. But then he froze with wide eyes. "Oh..." He breathed as he bit his bottom lip. He closed his eyes and raised his hands in front of him as the color drained from his face.

"Ralph, what is it?" Felix asked him with concern in his voice. He tilted his head to the side slightly as he watched as Ralph slowly turned to him.

"There is something on my back..." He said in a low calm voice. Everyone looked at him with brows arched.

When he turned to Felix, Vanellope's eyes went wide and her hands flew to her mouth. "Um... Ralph..." She said as she slowly pulled out her sword. "Don't freak out..." She said when he turned his head to her. Taffyta tried to move further away from Ralph as she squeaked in surprise at what she saw, but she only caused herself to get stuck even more. She breathed in a shaky breath as Vanellope glanced at her worriedly before she looked back up at Ralph.

There on his back was a huge spider with glowing red eyes. It was a little bit bigger than Vanellope and with its legs it covered Ralph's entire upper back.

"What is it?" Ralph asked as he tried not to panic as he heard the spider hiss.

"Ralph... Don't..." Steve began to say as he watched as Ralph began to panic. At first the massive man clenched his teeth as he breathed in and out. Now he was jumping in place waving his hands a little bit.

"Ralph..." Vanellope warned as she raised her hand to him. She didn't want to touch the large bug, in fact she didn't want to touch that thing with a ten foot pole.

That was it. Ralph freaked out. He yelled as he jumped up and down before he rolled around on the ground. Vanellope had to jump back to avoid being crushed by the man. Everyone cringed as the large man slammed his back up against a tree, only to have the insect crawl around him and onto his chest where it raised it's front legs and hissed at him angrily.

"Ralph! Calm down!" Steve said as he raised his shovel.

Ralph only shook his head and yelled again as he threw his fist at the spider. However the spider was really fast and crawled around so that it was sitting on his back once more. "Get it off!" Ralph screamed as he tried to reach back to grab the bug to throw it off him and into a tree but he just could not reach that far.

"Stay still!" Steve commanded as he swung his shovel. He missed the spider and slammed his tool into the back of Ralph's head.

"OW!" Ralph said as he covered his head with his hands as Steve continued his assault on the massive man. "Ow!" He cried again as the shovel once again missed the spider entirely and hit him. Every time Steve went to hit the spider he missed and hit poor Ralph.

Vanellope stood back and covered her eyes in fear for her friend. "Ralph! Just stay still!" She yelled without looking at him.

"I am still! OW!" He yelped before he fell flat on his stomach with his hands over his head in an attempt to avoid anymore hits from Steve's shovel.

"I got it!" Felix yelled as he swung his hammer at the insect.

Vanellope's eyes went wide as she dropped her hands. "Wait Felix no!" Vanellope cried as she reached for him. But she was too late. She watched helplessly as Felix's golden hammer collided with the spiders head. "Oh no..." Vanellope muttered before she ran back to Taffyta who was still struggling to free herself from what they now knew was a web. Vanellope wrapped her arms around Taffyta's upper body and began to pull. Vanellope could not help but to glitch out of panic causing Taffyta to glitch along with her.

"Ow hey!" Taffyta began to protest when she felt herself glitch along with Vanellope.

"Just help me free you're leg!" Vanellope cried, silencing Taffyta from whatever she was about to say. Both of the girls froze and turned their heads towards the guys as they all cried out in fear. After Felix had hit the spider with his hammer the insect more than doubled in size and was now hissing like crazy at them.

"Keep pulling! Keep pulling!" Taffyta cried as she struggled with her leg, she felt like her heart was going to explode because it was beating so fast.

"I'm trying!" Vanellope said as she pulled harder against Taffyta. After a few seconds Vanellope stopped pulling with a sigh. "What the fudge am I doing...?" She said as she let go of Taffyta.

"H-Hey...?" Taffyta stumbled over her words as Vanellope gave up. "You're not going to leave me here like this are you?" She asked with a shaky fearful voice as she watched Vanellope walk around her with her sword in her hand. Her eyes went wide as she watched Vanellope raise the sword above her head. "No! Don't Cut my leg off! Please!" Taffyta panicked as she began to struggle even more against the web, causing her to become even more tangled than she had been before. The pink racer Covered her eyes and screamed as soon as Vanellope brought it down. But she didn't feel any pain. Instead she felt the webs loosen around her leg and then she felt Vanellope's frantic hands pulling at the rest, finally freeing her from the mess. She opened her eyes to find Vanellope throwing the last of the webbing to the forest floor before she reached for Taffyta's hand.

"Come on!" Vanellope said as she tried to pull both of them to safety. However Taffyta's scream of fear seemed to catch the attention of the spider just as it was about to sink it's fangs into Felix as it pinned the little man to the ground.

"Girls! Run!" Steve screamed as he whacked the spider with his shovel for what felt like the hundredth time. The the spider whipped around and whacked Steve with one of its legs before it began to charge at Vanellope and Taffyta.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Ralph screamed as he tackled the spider with all of his weight before it had a chance to get close to the girls. But the spider rose up and was able to slip out of Ralph's hold before it began to chase down Vanellope and Taffyta.

"This way!" Vanellope cried when she realized that the bug was now after them. She felt the color drain from her face at the thought of being eaten alive by a giant spider. It was something that was out one of the horror stories some of the bad guys from Ralph's weekly meetings told. Not that she would ever tell Ralph that she listened to the stories, he was against them telling her stories like that.

"Oh no!" Vanellope said when she realized that they had hit a dead end. Their path was now blocked by a rock wall. She placed her hands flat against it, not believing it was there. "No, no, no..." She breathed as she turned to find that the spider had already caught up to them. Taffyta was shaking like a leaf beside Vanellope as she pressed her back against the wall. "V-Vanellope..." Taffyta stuttered as she pulled her sword out but she was shaking too bad for her to hold it properly.

Vanellope glanced over to Taffyta and saw just how scared she was. Vanellope was scared too but her adrenaline was so high that she pulled out her own sword and stood in front of Taffyta. "Stay back! Go away!" She yelled as she swung it at its face. The spider only hissed and took a step even closer.

Taffyta looked at Vanellope and saw how she stood protectively in front of her. It made her stomach bubble, twist and turn. She was the one who was supposed to be protecting her... Why would Vanellope want to protect her? After everything Taffyta had done to her in the past, and with how she still treated her... She had every reason to grab Taffyta and throw her at the spider and save herself... But Vanellope didn't, she stood firmly in front of the pink racer with her sword tight in her hands.

Taffyta covered her face with her hands and Vanellope closed her eyes tight as she spider drew back to ready itself to jump at them. But both of the girls jumped in surprised as they heard the loud sound of a gun going off over their heads.

Vanellope opened her eyes in time to see a rain off bullets shower the spider before the insect cried out and turned to pixels. "What...?" She muttered as she turned around and looked up at the top of the rock wall.

"Hello Vanellope." A blond haired soldier said as they smiled down at Vanellope before they jumped off the wall and landed in front of the girls. "You two seem to not be having a very good time." She said with a laugh.

"Calhoun!" Vanellope cried before she jumped at the soldier and gave her a hug.

"Good to see you too kid." Calhoun said with a smile as she hugged Vanellope back.

Vanellope smiled as she stepped away from the soldier. "Ralph and Felix are with us." Vanellope said as she pointed in the direction that her and Taffyta had run from. "Are they?" Calhoun's face lit up when she heard Felix's name. "Where?" She asked as she looked around slightly confused when she didn't see her beloved Felix anywhere.

"Well..." Vanellope started as she looked back at Taffyta to see that the blond had calmed down quite a bit. "We got chased by that spider, but they should not be too far from here." Vanellope said as she motioned for her to follow her.

Calhoun looked down at Taffyta and then back at Vanellope. "Has anyone told you that you two look different." She said before they began to make their way back to the rest of the group.

"Yes." Vanellope and Taffyta said at the same time.

* * *

"Ralphie!" Vanellope cried out with a smile when she saw the large man looking high and low for his friends with a worried expression written on his face. But as soon as he heard Vanellope's voice his face lit up and he ran over to her and picked her up to give her a big hug.

"You're ok!" He said with a relieved laugh as he pulled her away from him so he could look at her from head to toe in search of any injuries.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Vanellope said with a giggle as he set her back down on the ground. "We all are." She corrected herself as she turned towards Taffyta and Calhoun as they emerged from the trees.

"Calhoun!" Felix said as he ran up to his wife.

"Ew..." Vanellope muttered as she turned away knowing what to expect when those two were together. Instead she turned to Taffyta who was looking around the thick forest with paranoia written all over her face. She was about to ask her if she was ok but it seemed Steve beat her to it. Vanellope watched as Steve lightly tapped her on the shoulder with a gentle smile on his face. She watched as he said something and Taffyta nodded a few times before he reached for her hand to give it a quick squeeze. He said something else but after that Vanellope turned away and looked up at Ralph who had been watching her with a curious look on his face. "What?" Vanellope asked him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Ralph pursed his lips for a second as he glanced over to Steve and Taffyta before he looked back down at Vanellope. She did not seem too pleased with the two characters who were exchanging words. Ralph didn't know why and he didn't have long to ponder it. A sigh from Vanellope cut though Ralph's thoughts. "Nothing." Ralph answered her with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "Lets get back to that village before the sun is completely gone." Ralph said when he suddenly realized just where it was they were standing. At any given moment more spiders, or zombies, or whatever else that lurked around in that game would come out and attack them. And with them standing in the middle of a dark forest increased those odds of meeting things they did not want to meet.

"Oh, right." Steve said as he cleared his throat. "Lets move." He said as he pointed in the direction of the Village with his battered shovel. "Shouldn't be too long now." He said as the group began to move.

Felix had a dreamy smile on his face as him and his wife walked hand in hand through the forest.

Ralph expected Vanellope to want to ride on his shoulder's like she usually did she only shook her head and decided to walk instead. Instead of sitting on top of Ralph's shoulders and allowing her jealousy to fester she thought it would be better to at least walk to try and blow off as much steam as she could. Sitting still was not the way to do it.

Taffyta had her eye on Vanellope whose shoulders were tense and the way she took each step looked... Just a little bit off to her. Taffyta could tell that something was bugging Vanellope. The pink racer licked her lips as she thought of what might be the cause. Maybe the Princess was still frightened by the spider, or maybe she was upset with Taffyta for acting like a coward and basically using the green racer as a shield. She mentally slapped herself as she remembered the entire situation. 'Hiding behind the princess!? What was I thinking!?' Taffyta's mind screamed as she watched Vanellope. She felt a hand touch the back of her shoulder and when she turned her head she found the smiling face of Steve looking at her. He had his shovel leaning against his shoulder causally as he walked along side her.

"Hows the Protector doing?" He asked her.

Taffyta shook her head. "Don't call me that." She muttered before she walked on ahead. She didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Um... Sorry?" Steve said with a confused shrug. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked her. But Taffyta just kept walking. Nothing more was said that entire hike back to the Village.

Steve noticed how Taffyta kept sparing Vanellope worried glances. He clenched his teeth together and glared at the dark haired girl as he tightened his grip around the handle of his shovel so tight that his knuckles went white.

When they reached the village they walked though the gates just as the sun disappeared. Steve barricaded the doors and assured everyone that no matter what they heard outside the walls they would be safe there during the night.

Everyone was happy that Calhoun was with them now. Both because they were worried about her and she was a strong asset.

Ralph and the others visited with each other while Steve took Vanellope aside.

"I saw how you swung you're sword." He said to her as he lead her deeper into his village. Vanellope didn't want to go with him but at the same time she just did not feel up to visiting with everyone. Mainly because Taffyta was there. Lately the Blond racer had been giving her an odd feeling deep in her stomach. Now since she saw how she acted around Steve that feeling twisted and turned into something very uncomfortable every time she was around the blond. Vanellope knew that she was jealous of Steve for being able to do the one thing in his short time of knowing Taffyta that Vanellope had not been able to do since the reset of Sugar Rush. He bonded with her without even trying and was a closer friend to Taffyta than Vanellope would ever be. At that moment Vanellope felt herself five up. She had tried everything from ignoring Taffyta's continual teasing to actually playing along with it. Nothing seemed to work. Taffyta simply did not want to be friends with Vanellope.

"Vanellope?" Steve said as he waved one of his hands in front of her face. "Were you listening?" He asked her with a raised brow before he took a step away form her.

Vanellope blinked a couple of times before she gave her head a shake. "You saw me swing my sword?" She asked him.

"Eh... Yes." He said with a nod before he handed her a wooden blade. "I want you to practice with this." He said as she took it from him before he pointed to a wooden dummy behind him. "Have at her." He said as he patted Vanellope on the shoulder before he began to walk back to the group.

"Wait!? What?" She squeaked as she turned on her heel.

Steve turned to her and shrugged. "A princess needs to know how to defend herself... And her people." He stated clearly. "Practice, you need it, if something like that happens again... You might not be as lucky as you were today..." He said as he gave her a deadly glare before he continued on his way.

Vanellope nearly dropped the wooden sword as he disappeared behind one of the little houses. There was something in the look that he gave her that she really did not like. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably as she glitched. Why did she feel like she was being punished for what happened today? Her brow furrowed and she gave her head a little shake before she turned to the wooden dummy that stood behind her. It looked as though it had never been used.

She flinched when she heard the sound of snarling, hissing, and other creepy noises from outside the wall. Chills ran down her spine as she looked around. She had to keep telling herself that she was perfectly safe.

She sighed as she shrugged the leather strap of her diamond sword off and threw it to the ground before she swung the wooden sword at the dummy. There was a dull thud as she made contact. The impact traveled up the wooden sword and into her arms making her grit her teeth uncomfortably.

She slouched and the tip of the wooden sword dug into the ground as she lowered it to give her arms a little break before she really started. She breathed out as she stretched both of her arms before she tried again.

She could hear the laughter of Steve and the others in the distance on the other side of the village. Her jealously began to bubble as she wondered what joke he was telling his new best friend, Taffyta.

She gritted her teeth and began to swing the sword harder at the wooden dummy.

She light from a few torches that hung from a nearby wall were all that lit the area that she was in. They created intense shadows every time Vanellope went to attack the Dummy. Finally after a while there was a sound of something breaking and the next time she went to swing she felt as though her sword went straight through the dummy.

She stumbled slightly but regained her footing before she looked down at her blade only to find that the blade itself was gone and all that remained was the hilt that was in her hands. She sighed and dropped it on the ground. Her arms felt like they were vibrating and her shoulders were very sore.

She guessed that was enough for the night. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to just curl up in a tiny ball and sleep for a week. She turned around to retrieve her sword but she stopped when she realized that it was gone.

"Um..." She hummed in confusion as she pointed to the spot on the ground that she had left her diamond blade. "That's... Weird..." She said as she scratched the back of her neck as she looked around thinking that maybe she had placed it somewhere else but couldn't remember exactly where.

"Looking for something?"

Vanellope turned to find Taffyta leaning against a wall with a lollypop sticking out of her mouth and Vanellope's sword hanging from her shoulder in it's sheath.

Vanellope felt the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach return as Taffyta stared her down with a unreadable expression on her face.

Taffyta pulled Vanellope's blade from her shoulder and handed it to her. "Here." The blond said as she pulled her lollypop out of her mouth as she waited for Vanellope to take the blade from her.

Vanellope hesitantly reached for the blade. She expected Taffyta to pull some kind of prank on her, like Pulling the blade away and making some kind of cruel joke. But nothing like that happened at all. Vanellope slung the sheath over her back as she looked at Taffyta with a confused expression on her face.

"What?" Taffyta said with a shrug.

Vanellope opened her mouth to say something along the lines of 'Whats with the attitude change?' But she decided to keep her mouth shut. However Taffyta seemed have read her mind.

"I know what you are thinking." Taffyta said as she looked down at her Lollypop. "You're expecting some kind of joke from me." She said as she looked up at Vanellope with her eyes.

Vanellope slowly nodded. "Why aren't you with the others?" Vanellope asked her as she looked around.

Taffyta looked at her for a moment before she answered. "Why aren't you?" She shot back.

Vanellope laughed as she ran her hands over her face causing Taffyta to look at her confused. "Steve thought that I needed practice with a sword..." She said as she glanced at the broken wooden blade on the ground. "He is not too happy with me right now." Vanellope said in a quieter voice as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Taffyta tilted her head to the side in confusion. "He didn't say anything about sending you to practice with a toy sword." Taffyta said carefully.

"He didn't?" Vanellope asked as she remembered the harsh look he had given her before he walked away.

"No." Taffyta confirmed with a shake of her head. "I've been looking for you for like two hours now." Taffyta said as she dropped her lollypop on the ground before she crossed her arms over her chest. "I actually asked him and he said he had no idea where you were and that maybe you were off resting." She said as she watched Vanellope carefully.

"Why would he say that..?" Vanellope muttered as she shook her head in confusion.

"I don't know." Taffyta said with a shrug. "I eventually heard the sound of you repeatedly assaulting that poor dummy, when I found you here I thought I would just let you finish." Taffyta said as she kicked at the dirt. "You looked pretty angry." She said with a shrug.

Vanellope looked up at Taffyta and shook her head. "I wasn't." She said quickly.

"Oh yeah..?" Taffyta said with a low chuckle. "Say that to that poor broken sword on the ground." Taffyta laughed.

Vanellope could not help but to laugh too.

After their laughter died down Taffyta looked down at her feet. "Vanellope..." Taffyta said quietly as Vanellope looked at her slightly confused and concerned. She watched as Vanellope closed her eyes for a second as a glitch consumed her before she went back to normal.

Taffyta had so many words she wanted to say to her, at the top of her list was to apologize for the fifteen years of constant bullying, and how she always treated her and wish she could take everything bad she had ever done to the Princess back so that they could be friends. Because as long as all those memories stood in the way... It was like a thick brick wall for Taffyta. She felt like she did not deserve to be Vanellope's friend.

She also wanted to tell her that the reason she still teased Vanellope was because she was trying to cover up something else she was feeling towards the Princess. She felt like as long as she covered up those feelings with the teasing and the light bullying they would stay down and not grow out of control. But those feelings were becoming stronger until the point Taffyta almost had no control over them. They made Taffyta feel like she was going crazy.

She had spent the last two hours practicing what she was going to say in her head as she looked for Vanellope. A few times she had actually found herself reciting them out loud. She had felt so confident because she had every word laid out in her mind perfectly. But now... Now that she was about to say those words to Vanellope herself it was like a huge gust of wind whipped though her mind, taking every word and jumbling them up until they were completely unreadable.

She was without words, she didn't know where to start, or what to say. She was once again lost and the feeling that continued to grow within her remained hidden.

There was a pause but then Taffyta shook her head. "... Never mind, lets just head back to the others, Ralph is worried about you." Taffyta said as she reached her hand out for Vanellope to take.

Vanellope looked at her confused before she took Taffyta's hand and allowed the blond to lead her back to the group.

In the distance somewhere in the village, high up on the wall was someone watching them. They bit their lower lip and shook their head in frustration before they vanished into the shadows of the village.


	4. Chapter 4

Before Taffyta and Vanellope left the area where Vanellope had been practicing Vanellope took the time to pick up the broken wooden sword. When Taffyta asked her why Vanellope only shook her head and said that she was going to return it to it's owner.

When they returned to the group the girls found them sitting around the campfire. Ralph spotted Vanellope and raised his hand to wave to her. But he stopped when he realized she was not looking at him. Instead he watched as she walked right past everyone and up to Steve who looked down at her with an innocent smile on his face. "Hello Vanellope, nice of you to join us this evening." He said as he patted her on the head.

"You can have this back." Vanellope said as she shoved the broken wooden sword into his arms. "I don't think I need anymore practice to know how to hurt someone." She said before she turned on her heel and walked towards the house that she had chosen to stay in when they had returned from the forest.

She slipped inside and closed the door behind her before she leaned her back against it for a few seconds. She sighed and leaned her head back to hit the back of her skull lightly against the wood a few times before she pushed herself away from it and towards a small bedroom. It was nowhere near the size of her room back in Sugar Rush and she wished that they would find a way to get back home soon. She was really becoming homesick. She missed all of her friends, she missed Sour bill and all of the other candy people as well.

She crawled into her small single size bed and curled up into a little ball before she drifted off into a deep sleep.

She was so out of it that she did not even take notice that Ralph had followed her into the house. He looked around for a little bit before he peaked into a small room. With one of his hands on the door he slowly backed out and carefully shut the door with a small smile on his face. He had wanted to see if something was wrong with Vanellope. He had been so worried about her when they could not find her. Even Steve did not know at the time... But something told Ralph that Steve had somehow forgotten that he had taken Vanellope to another location within the village and left her there to practice with her sword. How could the little man have forgotten something like that.

Ralph's brow furrowed for a second as he shook his head. From the moment he had set eyes on Steve he had thought that there was something off about him. Now Ralph was almost certain that Steve was just not right. He was hiding something... And Ralph was going to figure out what it was. For now Ralph was not going to let Vanellope go anywhere alone with him.

Ralph made his way through the little house and to another room. He chucked and shook his head when he saw the little bed. He laid down and realized that he 'JUST' fit. There was barely any leg room but even so, moments later he was fast asleep.

The next morning everyone was woken with a start when they all heard and felt a ear torturing explosion. Vanellope screamed and fell out of bed before she jumped to her feet and ran out of her room. Ralph met her half way but he stumbled slightly when his forehead hit the top of the door frame that lead into his room.

"Ow..." He muttered as he rubbed his now sore head as she stumbled into the main area of their little house. "Vanellope? Are you ok?" He asked as he gave his head a little shake before he saw the little Green racer run out of her room.

"Ralph! What was that!?" She squeaked as she caught her breath.

"I don't know, kid." He said as he looked over to the front door. "Stay behind me." He said as he made his way towards the door. An uneasy feeling hung in the air as they went to check out what happened.

When he opened the door he was met by Taffyta who was standing in the doorway of the little house just across from their own.

"Did you hear that?" She asked as she hesitantly looked around. Ralph nodded before he saw a frantic Steve running down the path between their houses.

"Not good! Not good!" Steve yelled with his shovel, and a pickaxe in his arms as he frantically ran down the path, stumbling once when his foot found a rock before he continued on his way.

"Steve!? What happened?" Tamora Calhoun said as she ran out of another house.

"Not Good!" Was all Steve said as he turned around a corner and disappeared.

They all looked at each other in confusion before they followed the little man.

Vanellope somehow ended up in the lead, but as soon as she rounded the corner that Steve had disappeared behind barely a moment ago she came to a screeching halt with terrified wide eyes. There crawling towards her was a four legged, tall, green creature with a horrifying face. It's entire body seemed to be on fire as it charged at the small green racer.

"Run away!" Vanellope screamed to her friends as she began to back up a few steps as she watched in confusion as the creature's body began to bubble and bloat. She didn't expect the next thing that happened.

Everyone was still too far away to be within the creature's range. But when the creature exploded Vanellope had been just close enough to be hit with the force and be thrown back quite a ways. Her small body hit the wall of a house before she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta screamed in complete fear when she watched her Princess not get back up. "No, no, no." She said as she fell to her knees beside Vanellope. "Vanellope! Bloody Gum Drops! Answer me!" She cried as she nudged the girl's shoulder. When she didn't hear any sound from Vanellope she began to panic. "Vanellope! Vanellope!?" She yelled as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Taffyta, step back." Tamora said before she knelt beside Vanellope.

"But." Taffyta said with her eyes still on her fallen friend.

"You're not helping her if you crowd her, now go." Tamora said as gently as she could, but it was a little hard to do... Because... Well... It was Tamora.

Taffyta took one last look at Vanellope's unconscious form before she turned to see the Nicelander's, Q*Bert, Felix... And a very upset Ralph looking down at Vanellope with worried, concerned and scared faces.

"Ralph..." Felix said as he patted his friend's hand.

"She's just knocked out." Tamora said as she scooped up the Princess in her arms. "She will have a headache when she wakes up but that's about it, she was lucky she was not any closer." Tamora said before she walked by the group and back towards Vanellope's little house to lay the girl down.

"See Ralph, She's going to be ok." Felix said gently as he looked up at Ralph. But a low growl could be heard from Ralph's throat before he began to follow the path that Steve had taken. "Ralph?" Felix questioned before he began to follow him.

Taffyta turned away from watching Tamora carrying Vanellope away to see Ralph marching away. She arched her brow in confusion and pushed her worry for Vanellope aside for the moment to go and see what Ralph was about to do.

Felix seemed to be frantically saying something to his friend as they rapidly approached Steve who was repairing an alarming big hole in the wall.

Taffyta did not have enough time to wonder just where it had come from before Ralph grabbed a startled Steve by his collar and lifted him clean off the ground so that he could look at the smaller man in the eyes.

"You..." Ralph hissed as he gave Steve a death Glare. "Why Didn't you bother to warn us about that THING that was coming our way!?" He spat as he tightened his grip. If he had grabbed Steve by his arms or his neck they would be broken by now.

Steve swallowed nervously as Felix grabbed Ralph's arm that was like a rock. "Ralph! Put him down please! You cannot possibly be blaming Steve!" Felix said quickly.

"Oh, but I am!" Ralph said as he dropped Steve on the ground so he could crack his knuckles. "You ran that way! Why didn't you tell us!" Ralph demanded as he pointed at Steve who was shaking with fear. "Well!? Answer me!" Ralph said as he towered over the much smaller man.

"W-What are you talking about!?" Steve asked frantically.

Ralph Scoffed as Taffyta drew closer with her hands clasped together in front of her and her brows furrowed. She wanted to hear this... It was true... Why didn't Steve warn them? If he had than maybe Vanellope would not have been hurt.

"The Creature that exploded! It hurt Vanellope! Sent her right into a wall!" Ralph screamed. It was then that Steve looked around and he visibly looked surprised when he didn't see the little green racer. His eyes went wide when he heard Ralph growl and raise his fist.

"I- I didn't know! I swear!" Steve stuttered as he covered his head with his arms. "I know that a creeper made a hole in the wall! Another must have slipped in!" He said frantically. "They crawl around outside the village a lot during night! They must have smelled that there were more people in here than usual... That must have been what triggered the attack on the wall!" Steve said quickly before he took a breath to continue. "I promise! I didn't know anything about the one that hurt Vanellope! I was just trying to fix the wall!" He cried as he coward in fear.

Felix jumped up and took hold of his arm before Ralph could lash it out at Steve. "Ralph! Please! Don't! It was an accident! Hurting him won't fix what happened to Vanellope!" Felix cried with his eyes closed tight.

"Get off Fix It!" Ralph growled before he used his other hand to pick Felix off his arm and place him safely on the ground before he drew his fist back.

"No Ralph!" Felix cried as he cover his eyes in fear. The others did the same as well.

Taffyta was the only one to watch the display. Ralph drawing his fist back and firing the blow, but instead of his fist hitting Cowardly Steve his fist instead collided with the wall, Damaging it even more.

Ralph breathed in and out a few times as Steve removed his arms from his head and looked up at Ralph in confusion. Ralph instantly pointed at him with one of his massive fingers. "If I ever find out that you had something to do with hurting Vanellope... I promise you... I will pumble you so badly that it will delete you!" Ralph spat before he turned on his heel and made his way back to the little house where he would find the unconscious Vanellope.

Taffyta looked up at him as he walked by her. She then turned her head towards Steve who was being helped up by Felix. Steve patted the dirt off himself, grabbed his pickaxe and glanced over to Taffyta. Taffyta blinked a few times before she looked away from him to quickly follow Ralph. She needed to see Vanellope.

Steve turned back to the wall and with the help of Felix that had it fixed within record time. After a while Felix and the others left to go and see how Vanellope was doing. When their backs were turned they did not see the frustrated and angry look that plastered his face as he kicked at a rock on the ground. "Damn it.." He hissed as he threw his pickaxe to the side before he placed his hands on his hips. "He's not going to be happy..." Steve said with a sigh as he stared up at the newly repaired wall. Suddenly a fearful look on his face appeared before he left the area.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry guys! I know I haven't been updating at all for a while, Been very busy, And I promise to go back and edit this page.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Ralph had stayed with Vanellope for a few minutes before he left with Felix in search of more characters. Ralph looked down at Vanellope's unconscious form and frowned. The sooner they got out of that cursed game and back to their own the better... Ralph gave his head a shake before he slowly walked out of the room. He felt hesitant about leaving Vanellope alone but as soon as he stepped out into the hall his eyes fell upon a small Pink racer who was sitting against the wall with her knees brought up to her chest. She instantly looked up at Ralph when he left the room.

"Is she ok?" Taffyta asked quietly when she heard the heavy footsteps of the massive man exiting Vanellope's room. Ralph blinked a couple of times before he nodded slowly.

"Yes, she will be fine... Do you think you can stay with her while I'm gone?" Ralph asked, knowing that the answer was going to be yes even before Taffta nodded as she jumped to her feet. "I don't want her to be alone." Ralph said before he turned and left. He was happy that Taffyta and Vanellope were friends after everything that happened in the past. It gave Ralph some relief knowing that Vanellope had some friends now in her own game. After fifteen years of bullying it was good to see that the kid finally got a break and was no longer alone.

Taffyta slowly and hesitantly entered Vanellope's room. She stopped for a second when she spotted Vanellope laying in bed with a thin red blanket draped over her. Her face was towards the ceiling and her arms were on top of the blanket. She wondered if the girl was simply asleep now and Ralph was just trying to allow her some rest. However after Taffyta shortened the distance between herself and the Princess and sat down in a chair that was beside the bed. Vanellope began to stir. Taffyta froze, unsure of what to do she just simply watched as Vanellope's brows furrowed and her nose scrunch up in an uncomfortable expression before her eyes slowly fluttered open.

Seconds later Taffyta sat there holding her breath as confused hazel eyes stared at her before the green racer tried to sit up.

That seemed to snap Taffyta out of her trance. She instantly stood up and placed her hands on Vanellope's shoulders as gently as she could before she pushed Vanellope back down on to the bed. "Easy." She said as Vanellope laid her head back down onto the pillow. "Take it slow." Taffyta said as she pulled her hands away before she cupped them together in front of her. "Um..." Taffyta hummed as she looked around unsure of what to do next. "Just... Rest..." Taffyta finally said before she sat back down with her hands clasped together on her lap.

Vanellope's brow furrowed as she looked up at the ceiling. She had a look of confusion on her face as thoughts ran through her mind. "Did I hit my head?" She asked, unsure of what she was remembering actually happened or if she dreamed it instead. One thing was for certain though... Her head felt like someone was pounding against it with a giant hammer.

Taffyta slowly nodded. "Yeah, you hit your head pretty hard..." She said before she bit her lower lip as she watched as Vanellope raised her hand with a furrowed brow and bring it to her forehead.

"Oh... Fudge... My head is killing me..." Vanellope muttered before her body was engulfed in a blue glitch. Her glitching caused more pain to pulse through her skull making her eyes close tightly until the glitching stopped. She dropped her hand to her side with a sigh before she looked up at the worried face of the pink racer sitting beside her. "Did a big green thing really blow up in front of me?" Vanellope asked before she bit her bottom lip for a second. "Or was that all in my head?"

Taffyta thought about making a smart joke and telling her that it was all in her head and maybe adding a little prank onto the side and tell her that she had been unconscious for a week or so... But a split second later she gave her head a good firm shake and looked down at Vanellope and instantly felt bad for even simply thinking about it. She felt like she should not even be in the same room with Vanellope... Taffyta felt like she was just not healthy for Vanellope... And that was saying something because the reason being they were from a game that was completely made from unhealthy food. "Um... Yeah... I think Steve called it a Creeper. He said that it must have sneaked in through a hole in the wall that another Creeper made." Taffyta said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Vanellope instantly scrunched her nose at the mention of Steve's name. She had decided that she really did not like him. She didn't trust him, at all. From where she laid on the bed she crossed her arms over her chest. The movement made the muscles in her back cry out in protest, she ignored the pain knowing that she was probably bruised from where she had hit the wall.

Taffyta noticed this and bit her bottom lip. "You don't like him do you?" She asked the Princess. Vanellope didn't hesitate to shake her head.

"Not one bit." Vanellope said stubbornly.

Taffyta thought for a moment about what she should say next. It was not that she trusted Steve herself but at the same time they were in his game... So they had to play by his rules. "Keep in mind... We are being sheltered by his Village." Taffyta said with a slow shrug as she thought about her words very carefully. "I mean sure, you don't have to trust him... But." Taffyta blinked as Vanellope suddenly sat up looking at her with a blank expression.

"But don't give him a reason to kick us out, I know." Vanellope said a little harsher than she had meant to, but she barely even noticed it as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

Taffyta did not have time to feel bad about the tone of Vanellope's voice before she saw Vanellope about to stand. "What do you think you are doing?" Taffyta demanded as she jumped up from her seat. Vanellope looked at her from where she sat at the edge of the bed. "Um... What does it look like? I'm not going to stay here in bed all day." Vanellope said as she gave Taffyta a funny face.

"Oh yes you are!" Taffyta said as she stood up in front of Vanellope with her arms crossed over her chest with a look of disapproval on her face. "Now get back into bed." She said in a firm tone.

Vanellope looked up at her surprised. Sure Vanellope knew that Taffyta could be hard and demanding at times... But never like this.

"Now." She said again as she gave Vanellope a look that said; 'Just try it... I dare you.'

Vanellope sighed before she slowly laid back down.

"Good girl." Taffyta said as she crossed her arms over her chest with a smug look on her face.

"You win this round Muttonfudge..." Vanellope muttered with a pout.

Hours later Taffyta finally cracked and allowed Vanellope to at least sit up. Vanellope did try to walk around but found that she was too dizzy to stay on her feet for a longer period of time.

Vanellope sat in an armchair as she gazed out a window with a blank look on her face. She was bored. She hated staying still... She just simply was not the kind of Princess who sat around all day doing nothing. She liked to run around, work on her Kart... That she did not have at the moment. She sighed and slouched a little in her chair.

"Stop moping around." Taffyta said when she walked into the room and saw Vanellope moping. Vanellope looked up to see the pink racer leaning against the door frame. She wondered just where Ralph was.

Vanellope sighed and shook her head. "What am I supposed to do?" She said as she leaned over the arm of the chair dramatically. "I don't like staying still." She complained with a moan.

Taffyta shook her head and chuckled as she looked at Vanellope. The green racer really was kind of cute when she pouted. "Start by cheering up." Taffyta said with a shrug. "Ralph should be back soon... And tomorrow when the sun comes out he said that we were going to go down to a pond." She said with a smile.

Vanellope thought about it for a few seconds. Would be nice to do something that did not include, hiding behind the village walls, or running from monsters. But then she sighed again. "But tomorrow is so far away..." She continued to complain.

Taffyta blinked a couple of times unsure of what to say next. Instead she chuckled at the complaining princess. She had come back to the room to try and say everything that she had been trying to say for so long. The night before she had tried to tell her everything after Vanellope was finished breaking the wooden sword... But when she tried she had found herself completely without words.

She thought she would have better luck now... But it was not different. Every single word she was planning on saying had disappeared just by looking at the pouting princess.

"H-Hey!" Vanellope cried as she sat up when she heard Taffyta chuckling at her agony. "It's not funny!" Vanellope said with a pout. But instead of the pink racer stopping she instead began to laughing harder. "Stop it!" Vanellope said as she threw her hands up in the air.

* * *

The next day Vanellope followed Ralph and the others over to the pond that was not too far away from the village. Steve was with them and that did not make Ralph or Vanellope very happy, but they had to deal with it. Steve had said that he was going to do some fishing because of all these people they now had with them they would need the food.

Yesterday when Ralph came back he had brought four of the Sugar Rush Racers with him. Both Taffyta and Vanellope were so happy. Candlehead, Gloyd, Minty, and Rancis were now part of their group. Sure it was a moment of happiness and relief when they came back but everyone knew that there were so many characters that were still scattered across Minecraft.

They had two more additions to their group as well.

On their way to the pond they were approached by a few more characters that seemed very interesting. No one seemed to know who they were except for Steve. "Hello Banjo, Hello Mumbo." Steve said with a fishing rod leaning against his shoulder.

"Hello Steve." The character with the skull said in a very strange accent. Vanellope could not tell whether or not he was smiling or not because it seemed that his entire head was a skull. He had three feathers sticking out the top of his head and he wore blue overalls. He held a stick with a skull on the end of it. The other character was a bear who wore a blue backpack.

Everyone jumped in surprise when a red bird popped its head out of the top of the bag. "Banjo, why have we stopped?" It asked before it saw the group they had ran into. "Who are they?" It asked as it tilted its head to the side.

"My friends." Steve said as she gestured to the three characters. "This is Banjo." He said as he pointed at the bear with the backpack. "Kazooie." He pointed to The red bird. "And Mumbo the Shaman." He finished with a smile.

They all introduced themselves before they finished their journey to the pond.

Vanellope sat against a tree stump while Ralph tried his hands at fishing. She covered her mouth as she watched Ralph fall into the pond multiple times. It seemed that the large man was not that good at fishing. Steve on the other hand sat on the other side of the pond with the line of his fishing pole lazily bobbing with the waves that Ralph made when he fell in. His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping but every time that his line began to pull he tugged and a fish came flying out of the water that he than threw into a bucket that sat beside him.

Taffyta watched everyone from a distance, she leaned against a tree lazily with a lollypop sticking out of her mouth, and in her hands a piece of paper that she had written on barely minutes after she had woken that morning.

She woke up so frustrated with not being able to form the words that she wanted to so badly say to Vanellope's face. The words were always there in her mind, she could say them without Vanellope being there. She finally came up with an idea.

She remembered jumping out of bed and running across the room to a small desk against the wall. She grabbed a piece of paper and a quill before she began scribbling down words. She actually wasted not one, not two, but three pieces of paper before she finally managed something that was not all jumbled. She read out what she had made as the ink dried before she neatly folded the paper and hugged it against her chest with her cheeks burning bright.

Her pocket that the paper was in felt heavy. She only needed to give it to Vanellope... But...

Taffyta looked up to see that Vanellope was alone sitting against the tree stump as Ralph finally had it with the fishing rod and instead jumped into the pond and began using his massive hands to catch the fish.

Taffyta took a breath to try and calm her frantic heart before she walked over to the princess.

Taffyta hopped up onto the stump and sat down as she looked down at Vanellope who looked up at her in confusion as she glitched slightly. "How are you today, Glitch?" Taffyta asked as she pulled her lollypop out of her mouth. "I mean, you head, how do you feel? She said as she looked down at Vanellope.

Vanellope almost flinched when she heard the name Glitch. It was something that she would never be able to get used to. Despite her knowing that it was nothing more than a joke now... It still hurt a lot when someone called her that. She looked up at Taffyta and her brow furrowed when she realized how red Taffyta's face was. "Are you ok?" Vanellope asked her as she watched as Taffyta scratched the back of her neck.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said as she cleared her throat and dug into her pocket. "I... Have something for you." She said as she went to hand Vanellope the paper. She hesitated slightly but eventually the paper made it to Vanellope's hands.

Vanellope looked down at the folded paper with a confused look on her face.

"Well what are you waiting for read it!" Taffyta said as she shoved her lollypop back into her mouth to try and distract herself.

"Ok...?" Vanellope said as she looked down at the paper as she unfolded it, a pencil rolled out of the paper and onto her lap.

_Dear Vanellope_

_Either Check yes or no_

_Do you like me? Yes/No_

_Would you laugh at my jokes even if they aren't funny? Yes/No_

_Would you hug me? Yes/no_

_Would you Kiss me? Yes/No_

_Would you be my Girlfriend? Yes/No_

_Because for everything above is a yes from me to you. _

_I'm sorry for everything I have done to you, I'm sorry that I was so mean. Every time I try to say everything I wanted to say to you my mind went blank, so I finally decided to write everything down. I know you said that it was all Turbo's fault, but that still was no excuse for how I acted. I wish I can take it all back and instead have been a friend by you're side through those fifteen years. But I can't. I don't know how you can put everything behind you and forgive everyone so easily and I will never blame you if you Don't forgive me. I need you to know that I really like you and would understand if you say no._

Vanellope blinked a couple of times as she cheeks burned before she reached for the pencil. She paused for a moment before she circled her answers.


End file.
